07/09/98

Retail and OEM slant today

Richard Lindley steps down at ISA chief executive

Richard Lindley is to step down as chief executive at ISA International following discussions with board. The official position was that the increasing demands of the group called for a CEO with broader experience. Alan Dean, non-executive chairman, said: "The Board will be supporting and working closely with Richard until such a time as a new Chief Executive is appointed. We do not anticipate any disruption to the day-to-day business of the Group during this intervening period."

Price cuts stimulate Playstation sales

Playstations are selling like the proverbial hotcakes, following the recent cut in price to £99.99. Bank Holiday sales figures were up 42 per cent on the previous week to 25,000 units. UK marketing director Alan Welsman said that the new price had ignited market demand for the console. "As long as we can meet demand, this Christmas looks like being our biggest ever," he said.®

Corel teams up with Agfa in scanner deal

Corel has announced an OEM agreement with Agfa, under which a CD-ROM with PC and Macintosh versions of Corel PHOTO-PAINT 8, will be bundled with the software accompanying all DuoScan T1200 scanners. A representative for the manufacturers said that the Corel PHOTOPAINT software was chosen because "it provides a rich variety of professional, yet easy-to-use, image-manipulation tools." Agfa also recently announced a new 36 bit version of the T1200 scanners. The PC software is already shipping in five languages, and the Mac version will start shipping in mid autumn, the companies said.®

Programmer's Paradise in share buy-back

Having found itself with some cash to spare, Programmer's Paradise has authorised a stock repurchase program to buy back about five per cent of the company's outstanding common stock. Bill Willett, chairman and CEO, said: "Our decision to implement this program demonstrates our continued belief and confidence in the value of our business." Programmers paradise markets PC based technical software for PCs, servers and networks. It aims its campaigns at people who design, program, document and support software. The company said that the repurchase programme could be extended in the future. The company currently has around 5.3 million shares of common stock. More info can be found at Programmer's Paradise's Web site.®

Eidos pays £28m for Crystal Dynamics

Eidos has bought US development studio Crystal Dynaics for £28.4 million cash. The company said it would fund the deal from existing resources. Fifty per cent of the deal is payable on completion and the remaining 50 per cent is deferred until April 1, 1999.

Logitech promotes new OEM range

Logitech has announced a new line of OEM mice. The new products are specifically targeting the quality and cost conscious VAR Market, the company said. The mice will be available in one button, two button and wheel button versions. John Love, director of marketing at Logitech said: "Our pricing meets the needs of solutions providers who realise the competitive advantage of branded accessories but who are extremely conscious of incremental costs." The mice will be sold to VARs and system integrators through the usual channels. "The OEM side of our business is the foundation of our strength," said Guerrino De Luca, Logitech's president CEO. "It is in the OEM arena that we have mastered high-volume manufacturing and established a competitive infrastructure to support the demands of this market." The mice are available now with a 12 month warranty. Specific pricing information is only available from the distributors.®

Iomega slashes UK prices

Iomega has slashed prices on its Jaz 2 and Zip drives by up to 25 per cent. Both the internal and external versions of the 2GB Jaz drive will now retail for £299 down from £399. The parallel port version of the 100MB Zip drive is now £99 down from £119, a cut of 17 per cent. Iomega has also cut media prices, with a single 2GB jaz disk falling from £99 to £79, down 20 per cent. A six-pack of Zip cartidges will now retail for £49, down 29 per cent on the old price, £69.®